INK POETRY READ

Life's Cutthroat Game
by Matt Kolessar '19

​Come, don’t be afraid.
I want to take you on a journey with me.
Imagine two scenes presented to you.
Two beautiful scenes
Filled with an infinite number of possibilities.
Which one are you to choose?
An unfair question for you know not about them.
So let me fail to capture that beauty in feeble words
In hope to enlighten you about this journey we traverse.
 
You gaze upon one
With a pale snowy sheet
Accompanied by those cool gusty winds
Captured by a pair of sapphire gems.
The golden sun hangs down from overhead
Keeping one warm while wandering through this cold dimension.
Please do not be afraid, for the cold is not to resemble negativity,
Just another void awaiting your warmth.
Remember, as a child, when you would roam this cold winterland,
It was not a place for sorrow, but a time of joy.
So why not hurl yourself in,
Enthrall that feeling once again.
Why not, but for one reason.
If you choose to adventure this realm,
There will surely be footprints telling your path.
So when you have played your wintery games,
Choose to settle and gaze at the beauty once again,
Will you remember how it once looked,
The beauty untouched?
What will happen when your fire burns too much?
For snow shrieks away at it’s dangerous touch.
Who would have thought that the greatest danger this paradise,
Could be you?
 
Do not worry or fret,
For there is another option.
There always seems to be forks in this road.
Come now, bring that fire,
You shall need it to see this world that awaits.
Why you ask, for the darkness flows from the trees,
Dangling down over the two moons,
Made of metallic green melted and mixed with a bronze luster.
Ever watching, looking down for a worthy champion.
This world, covered with caramel plates,
Is different from the other.
It is another person’s paradise.
While some whimper and panic,
Fleeing from the obsidian night,
Others go with their obsidian knight,
Facing these mysterious unknowns.
Oh won’t you put out your fire,
You’ll spoil the fun.
The mysteries shriek away from your bright light.
If you keep it on,
There soon may not be many mysteries left.
Is this what you want, to destroy this world too?
 
It isn’t you, it’s your fire.
Your passion to explore,
The anticipation you burn away with every step you take.
Leaving behind a smoldering corpse,
In place of the one you longed for.
Everything you want in this contest for survival,
Requires a sacrifice.
Can’t you hear the chanting?
Just extinguish the flame.
What’s this you say?
Maybe there is a way to play the game,
All the while keeping your light to find the way.
Heresy, Blasphemy,
You dare contradict me?
I am your voice,
Your compass,
Your bane of existence.
I am you and you are me.
I’ve made my choice,
So suck it up and take a knee
Yes, finally, extinguish your flame,
Put aside your passion, pride, and venturing delights.
And jump into these worlds of adventure.
​